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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26722033">The Other Side</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/LostyK/pseuds/LostyK'>LostyK</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Sanders Sides (Web Series)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Gen, Implied/Referenced Abuse, Remix, evil dark side ocs</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-10-15</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-10-15</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 08:22:31</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>3,808</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26722033</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/LostyK/pseuds/LostyK</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Something has pulled at the walls of the Dark Side, and Virgil is missing. Janus is going to get to the bottom of this, and get Virgil back.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Anxiety | Virgil Sanders &amp; Deceit | Janus Sanders</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>12</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>138</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>Remix Revival 2020 Madness, TSS Fanworks Collective</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>The Other Side</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><ul class="associations">


        <li>
            Inspired by

            <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/21015917">First Impressions</a> by <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/Odaigahara/pseuds/Odaigahara">Odaigahara</a>.
        </li>

        <li>In response to a prompt by
            <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/Odaigahara/pseuds/Odaigahara">Odaigahara</a>  in the  <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/collections/remixmadness2020">remixmadness2020</a>
          collection.
        </li>
    </ul><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>A remix of Odaigahara's wonderful fic First Impressions. Make sure you read that first, otherwise this won't make much sense.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Something pulled at the walls of the Dark Side.</p><p>Janus straightened in his seat, reaching out his senses across the Dark Side, but unable to identify the interloper. Strange.  The feeling passed, as if it had never been there, and the Dark Side seemed to fall back into order once more.</p><p>Janus strode out of his room; the only possible way to figure out what had just happened would be to look for the effect. Malice and his cronies were in the common area – Janus could hear them laughing as he walked past – and the kitchen was still and empty. Nothing seemed out of place.</p><p>He went to Virgil’s room next, because if something was off then Anxiety was the most likely to pick up on it, even if he’d be unable to understand <em>what </em>it was.</p><p>Virgil didn’t respond to the first knock, or the second. After the third, Janus got fed up of waiting and just pushed the door open.</p><p>The wave of <em>paranoia </em>hit him instantly, making the shadows darker, conjuring up a thousand monsters that could be waiting to pounce. It was enough to send another side screaming, but Janus was familiar with the prickle at his skin, was able to see past the lies to the gloomy, empty room underneath.  There was no danger there, save perhaps the risk of cutting oneself on the edginess of it.</p><p>But it did draw the question of where Virgil was if not here; or sneaking food from the kitchen; or skulking in the corridors, shadows hiding him from danger. Virgil never went anywhere else unless Janus was with him – not voluntarily, anyway.</p><p>But many things <em>weren’t </em>voluntary, not in the Dark Side. Here, the only thing that mattered was whether you could be <em>made </em>to do something, and Virgil could be made to do a lot of things. Not enough strength to be automatically left alone the way Janus was, and not brutal enough to go after the others first. Malice was in the common room, and Janus could guess what they were celebrating.</p><p>Confronting them as himself would do no good, so Janus shifted into a different skin. Impulsivity was a weak, cowardly thing, always ready to throw someone else to the wolves in the hope that he could get a bite, but he was able to linger around the others without drawing too much attention. Even better, Impulsivity was currently busy with Jealousy, meaning there would be no chances of awkward run-ins.</p><p>In the common room, Malice lounged on one of the sofas, like a king surrounded by his court. Lust had the other sofa, which he lay on as if it was a chaise lounge; Rage leaned against the wall at the foot of the stairs; Entitlement sat on the floor near Malice, and Pride stood in front of the TV.</p><p>Janus lingered on the stairs so that he could get out easily when he needed. The other sides made no attempts to keep quiet, clearly not concerned about who hear them.</p><p>“Please,” Pride mimicked, voice going high enough to rival Remus. “Let me out. It’s c-c-c-<em>cold.” </em> The exaggerated stutter drew laughs from the others, and Janus clenched his fists, then forced himself to relax and look amused.</p><p>Honestly, they were acting as if it was a work of comedic genius, when Pride didn’t even sound anything <em>like </em>Virgil. Virgil’s voice was lower, for one, even when he was panic. And he was equally as likely to spit insults as he was to beg, never controlling his <em>damn </em>tongue. Always leaving Janus to clean up his messes, to get him out of trouble, as if he could rely on <em>anyone </em>down here.</p><p>“Do you think he’ still screaming?” Entitlement asked.</p><p>“Hope not,” Rage growled. “Someone oughta shut him up for good.”</p><p>“You’d think Deceit would have done that by now,” Pride said, and Janus felt bile rise up in his throat.</p><p>“I think Deceit <em>likes </em>his tongue,” Lust drawled. “Got to be some reason he keeps him around.”</p><p>It was nothing Janus hadn’t heard before; he was well aware that few other people understood his and Virgil’s relationship. It was better that way, the less people understood it, the less easily it would be for them to weaponise it.</p><p>He didn’t need to hear more of it, though. Pride’s mockery had already told him that Virgil was trapped somewhere cold. There was only one place in the mindscape that fit that bill.</p><p>He longed to marched down the stairs and <em>make </em>them release Virgil, make it so none of them would ever touch him again. But at best he risked painting more of a target on Virgil, at worse – well. They could do a lot more than just locking someone in a freezer.</p><p>In theory, the Dark Side was nothing more than a mirror image of Thomas’ apartment. In practise, it was closer to a funhouse mirror, a constantly shifting creature made of secrets and repressed thoughts, and Janus knew all of them.</p><p>It was a simple thing to slip along a passageway carved into the jealousy Thomas felt for his more successful friends and into the kitchen, shedding his disguise as he went.</p><p>The room was silent, the air oddly still, no screaming or begging from the freezer, and no lying, either, desperately telling themselves that everything would be okay, that they could take whatever happened next.</p><p>Malice’s power was all over the room, oppressive and crushing. Janus worked quickly to push it away from the freezer door, using his full power to do so. This was the time for a battering ram, not a lock pick.</p><p>And as Malice’s power loosened, still no sounds came from the freezer. Virgil should be snarling threats or asking for help by now, or at the very least trying to get away from the door, as if there was anywhere he could go in a fucking <em>freezer</em>. That he wasn’t doing any of this meant that Virgil <em>couldn’t </em>make noise; even with a gag, whimpers would still be heard.</p><p><em>Finally</em>, the last of Malice’s power dissipated. He’d need to act fast, to pull Virgil out and get him somewhere warm as soon as possible. He flung open the door, bracing himself to catch Virgil if he fell forwards.</p><p>The freezer was empty.</p><p>Janus was in the right place, he was certain – Malice wasn’t smart enough to trick him – which meant-</p><p>Virgil must have died.</p><p>That was – fine. It was <em>fine</em>, because Virgil would wake up in his room in a few days. Dying was… <em>unpleasant</em>, but Virgil had dealt with it before. All of them had. It was just unfortunate that Janus hadn’t been able to rescue him in time. If he <em>had</em>, Virgil would be even more loyal to Janus, would be in Janus’ debt, even.  </p><p>Now he had to pick up the pieces. And if he was concerned about how Virgil had behaved the last time he’d died – pale and flighty and sticking to Janus’ side for weeks – well, he needed to be able to rely on his minions. That was all.</p><p>“I knew it,” Malice hissed from behind him.</p><p>Janus did not jump, just turned around and raised an eyebrow, even as he was screaming to himself internally. He <em>knew </em>how quiet Malice could walk, like a cat stalking a mouse; should have been listening out for him.</p><p>“New feelings can be confusing, I know,” Janus drawled. “Don’t worry, I’m sure it’ll pass soon.”</p><p>“You think you’re so <em>fucking</em> smart,” Malice sneered, eyes blazing. “Always sneaking around behind our backs.”</p><p>“I protect my own interests,” Janus said, even as his mind latched on to Malice’s comment and raced with it. “If you don’t want me involved, then don’t touch my stuff.”</p><p>“You weren’t using him,” Malice said. “The least you could do is let us have our fun. What did you do with him, anyway?”</p><p>Janus gasped in mock surprise. “Good idea, I should tell you about <em>all </em>my secrets! <em>Do </em>make sure you take notes.”</p><p>Malice took a step forward, snarling, power sparking up between them. Janus hissed and bared his teeth, his own power pushing back, and Malice went still.</p><p>It was a familiar dance, both needing to seem threatening enough to not look weak, but not so much as to cause the other to attack. Malice always had the majority of sides behind him, even if who was part of that majority shifted daily like quicksand. But Janus was Deceit, was lies and denial, and his power came from the Dark Side itself.</p><p>“Careful, Deceit,” Malice said lowly, a way to back down without retreating. “One of these days someone might just get tired of all your sneaking around.”</p><p>“I’m quaking in my boots,” Janus replied cooly.</p><p>He stayed where he was until he was certain that Malice had truly left, and then sank down to his room. He needed to think, to figure out the puzzle in front of him.</p><p>Puzzle piece one: Virgil had been locked in the freezer by Malice.</p><p>Puzzle piece two: He wasn’t in there anymore.</p><p>Puzzle piece three: Malice blamed Janus for this.</p><p>Puzzle piece four: It would have been impossible for Janus to get Virgil out and away without Malice seeing him. Malice knew this.</p><p>If Virgil had died, Malice would have mocked Janus for being too late. If someone else had gotten Virgil out, Malice would have gloated.</p><p>It was like a classic mystery: How could a side disappear from a locked freezer?</p><p>Malice’s power would have prevented Virgil from sinking out, and no side would have been strong enough to summon him out from under Malice’s influence. Even the <em>Light Sides</em> would probably be unable to do that.</p><p>And yet, <em>something </em>had tugged at the walls of the Dark Side earlier, and Janus was beginning to suspect that had something to do with Virgil’s disappearance. The only outside influences that existence were the Light Sides, whose power Janus was familiar with, and Thomas.</p><p>It was a ridiculous idea, not least because Thomas didn’t even know of the Light Sides existence. But Janus still reached out to the tangle of Thomas’s memories, because if there was a chance Thomas <em>had </em>done this-</p><p>Unwrapping Thomas’ memories was always difficult from the Dark Side. Janus was better at it than most, but they were still sometimes knotted, confused things. Now he tried to focus on the time when Janus had felt the intrusion, pulling on the thread until something came loose.</p><p><em>“I didn’t expect that to actually work,</em>” and then, <em>“You said you’re my anxiety, right?”  </em>and, <em>“his lips are blue</em>”. Janus pulled back after that, forced himself away from the warmth that was <em>Thomas</em>.</p><p>Well, that had been unexpected. He could work with it, though, had been considering letting Virgil talk to Thomas for a while now, but hadn’t quite been ready to make the leap. Now he had his in, a way to get Thomas’ attention, to stop the Light Sides from destroying his life and calling it <em>kindness</em>.</p><p>After being trapped in the freezer for so long, Virgil would go back to his room as soon as he could, somewhere safe and <em>alone</em>. Janus would meet him there, and quiz him about what had happened – he’d have to be careful to not seem upset about it, otherwise Virgil would try to <em>hide</em>. The actual plan could be worked out then; there were too many factors to do so now – how had the Light Sides reacted, how had <em>Thomas </em>reacted.</p><p>Letting Virgil speak to Thomas might net him some power, too. Not much, but enough that others might think twice before picking on him.</p><p>Satisfied with his plan, Janus headed to Virgil’s room to wait.</p><p>*</p><p>Virgil didn’t return.</p><p>Janus waited until night, on the chance Virgil was just taking a while, but still, he never arrived. Wonderful, how considerate of Virgil, to need rescuing twice in one day.</p><p>Virgil must still be with the Light Sides. Of course he was. Freedom from the freezer, a chance to speak to Thomas, possibly even food and rest without the risk of being pounced on the moment his back was turned; it was everything Virgil could have asked for. Of course stupid, trusting Virgil would have accepted it at once.</p><p>He wouldn’t have done so blindly, though. If he suspected something was wrong, he’d try to leave immediately, get back to Janus. The question was, what would the Light Sides do when he tried?</p><p>They were better than Malice, sure, because <em>anything </em>would be better than him, but that didn’t make them <em>safe</em>. They had their own ideas about what Thomas should do, just like the rest of them, and they had a vested interest in keeping the other Sides away from him. To let someone up, even someone as unthreatening as Virgil? That they would never do without expecting something in return.</p><p>Perhaps they were banking on being able to control Virgil, to keep him in line. No damage done could be permanent, so they might not even think twice about hitting him. Or else they could be looking for information about the Dark Sides. It was what Janus would do, though he’d likely use more subtle methods than they would.</p><p>Either way, they wouldn’t want Virgil scurrying back to the Dark Side. Which meant Janus would just have to fetch him.</p><p>He slipped into the Light Side quickly and ducked into a laundry closet right before the Lights came around the corner.</p><p>“-Get his room moved,” Morality was saying.</p><p>“A dark and stormy roommate, how wonderful,” Creativity said, before quickly adding, “Kidding! <em>Obviously</em> he’s going to stay here.”</p><p>“Moving his room may take time,” Logic said. “And will most likely require Thomas’ assistance.”</p><p>“Thomas already seems enamoured with him for some reason,” Roman pointed out.</p><p>“Thomas agreeing to help isn’t the problem,” Logic said. “This exercise will likely require intense concentration, something which I think we can all agree isn’t Thomas’ strong suit.”</p><p>“Well, he can sleep on the couch,” Morality said. “It might not be very comfortable, but it’s better than the Dark Side.”</p><p>Janus bristled at that. The Dark Side was perfectly fine, thank you very much. The couch wasn’t exactly a place to keep a prisoner, though, which meant they must not be expecting Virgil to run away. Either they’d already found a way to convince him to stay, or they thought no one was looking for him.</p><p>Janus didn’t wait to hear the rest, instead he teleported directly to the Light Side’s common area. It was harder to do here, where everything was so <em>open</em>, but after a few heartbeats of walking through treacle, he arrived.</p><p>Virgil, sat on the couch, jumped up immediately. “Dee! What are you doing here?”</p><p>“I could ask you the same question,” Janus said, running his eyes across Virgil, searching for injuries.</p><p>His skin was pale, and there were bags under his eyes, but that was nothing new. His knuckles were scraped, most likely from the freezer. Other than that, he seemed fine. If the Lights had already done something, they’d been clever about it.</p><p>“I didn’t mean to,” Virgil said quickly. “I swear, I wasn’t – I’m not going behind your back or anything. I just- showed up. In the real world.”</p><p>“Thomas summoned you.” That part Janus already knew, he was more interested in what had happened after.</p><p>Virgil nodded. “I didn’t know he was going to,” he added, as if Janus had ever suspected <em>that</em>.</p><p>“That’s not important,” Janus said. “It’s time to go.”</p><p>Virgil bit his lip and nodded, looking down. Janus took a step forward, and Virgil’s eyes flickered up and fixed on something beyond Janus’ shoulder. It was the only warning Janus got before He was gripped from behind and pulled away from Virgil. A sword tip was levelled against his chest.</p><p>Creativity stood in front of him. Logan and Patton were stood by the stairs, watching with wide eyes.</p><p>“He’s not going anywhere,” Roman snarled, power coming off him in waves, like a brighter version of his brother’s.</p><p>Janus sneered. “Are you going to stop me?”</p><p>“Yes, actually, that’s what I’m doing right now,” Roman said. His eyes flicked to Virgil and then back again. “You can either leave by choice, or I can kill you.”</p><p>Virgil made a choked noise. Shadows began to twitch at their feet. If Roman did run Janus through, he’d be back in a few days. But the Light Sides would be expecting him, would likely move Virgil somewhere more secure. His best chance was to rescue Virgil now.</p><p>“Anxiety, come here,” Patton commanded, and Virgil hesitated.</p><p>“Don’t,” Janus snapped. “We’re leaving.”</p><p>“Not likely,” Roman said, and he drew his sword back, ready to <em>strike</em>-</p><p>Virgil was there, in between the two of them. “<strong><em>Stop</em></strong>,” he said. “Roman, please, just – he’ll go, okay, I won’t speak to him again, just – don’t hurt him.”</p><p>Roman looked between the two of them, baffled. “Are you <em>actually defending him</em>?”</p><p>Virgil squared his shoulders and nodded.</p><p>“Ah,” Logan said. “I think I see what’s happening.”</p><p>“Oh, good,” Patton said weakly. “I’m glad someone does.”</p><p>“Anxiety,” Logan asked. “Was Deceit involved in you being shut in the freezer?”</p><p>“No,” Virgil said quickly. “Definitely not. He’s – a friend, I guess?”</p><p>Not entirely accurate, but it seemed to satisfy the others. Patton’s expression softened, and Roman even took a few steps back and put his sword away.</p><p>“Some friend,” Roman snapped. “Where <em>were </em>you?”</p><p>“<em>Not </em>looking for Anxiety. Clearly.”</p><p>“Oh,” Patton cried. “You must have been so <em>worried</em>. We had no idea – you probably want to talk to Anxiety, don’t you? We’ll leave you alone.”</p><p>Logan cast one more assessing look over Janus before leaving up the stairs. Roman sighed and followed.</p><p>“We’ll just be upstairs, okay? Deceit, you can stay as long as you want,” Patton said, before following the other two.</p><p>Janus could only stare, stunned by Patton’s whirlwind response. Either his lie detection didn’t work in the Light Side, or Patton had been telling the truth. He wasn’t sure what was worse.</p><p>“I’m sorry,” Virgil said, drawing Janus’ attention. “I know I should have come back straight away. I just- I figured why not stay while they still want me around.”</p><p>Janus shook his head. “What did they do when you showed up?”</p><p>“Nothing,” Virgil said, and then at Janus’ look, he added, “I mean, they didn’t threaten me or anything.” He looked away, suddenly very interested in a spot of wall. “They fed me.”</p><p>“<em>Fed you</em>?” He’d suspected that might have been the case, but is sounded unbelievable when heard spoken out loud. In the Dark Side, you guarded the food you had, you never gave it away for free.</p><p>A lot of what the Light Sides had done seemed unbelievable.</p><p>“I mean, Thomas did,” Virgil amended, looking guilty. “I think I freaked him out. And not in the way I’m meant to.”</p><p>“And you don’t know what they want in return?” Janus asked.</p><p>Virgil shook his head.</p><p>The Light Sides had helped Virgil, had possibly saved his life. They’d let him speak to Thomas, who seemed to feel some level of positive emotion for him. They’d even defended him from someone they thought was dangerous, and taken Virgil’s word that Janus wasn’t.</p><p>Now that Thomas knew about him, Virgil would be able to appear at will. That made him useful, but it also made him a target.</p><p>“If there’s any trouble,” Janus said, “If they hurt you or ask for something you can’t give, you are to find me straight away, understand?”</p><p>“Aren’t we leaving?” Virgil asked.</p><p>“I am. You’re staying here.” Virgil opened his mouth, and Janus raised a hand. “You have a foothold in Thomas’ attention. That’s something I can use.”</p><p>“You want me to spy,” Virgil said.</p><p>“I want you to go along with things. And if you get the opportunity, nudge Thomas closer to our way of thinking.” Virgil still looked reluctant, so Janus added, “Or you could go back with me. You’ve been doing your job <em>so well </em>from the inside of a freezer.”</p><p>Virgil glared. “Fine,” he snapped, “But I have a condition, too.”</p><p>“Which you’re <em>totally </em>in the position to make,” Janus hissed, showing teeth.</p><p>Virgil didn’t flinch. “If I do this, I’m still working for you. That means if you need me, you call for me.”</p><p>“You’re condition for working for me,” Janus said incredulously. “Is more work?”</p><p>“I’m serious, Dee,” Virgil said. “I’m not- this isn’t me abandoning you or anything.”</p><p>Of course it wasn’t, since it was Janus’ idea in the first place. It was merely moving Virgil to a more suitable position.</p><p>A suitable position that happened to be away from him. Janus would find a way to sneak in to see Virgil, because of course he would, he needed to make sure that everything was going according to plan.</p><p>But Virgil wouldn’t be in the Dark Side anymore. Janus wouldn’t have him at his back, glowering at anyone who got too close. Wouldn’t have to sneak food to him on days when the other Dark Sides were occupying the kitchen, or watch movies with him and Remus, safe in the depths of their rooms.</p><p>“Fine,” Janus said past the lump in his throat. “I’ll contact you soon.”</p><p>“Yeah,” Virgil said. “Just- be careful out there, alright?”</p><p>“Totally something I need reminding to do,” Janus said.</p><p>Virgil rolled his eyes. “Yeah, well, you’re the one going back there.”</p><p>And hopefully he was the only one who was going back there. All too soon, it was time for Janus to leave.</p><p>“Well then,” he said.</p><p>“You could stay?” Virgil suggested. “Patton would be fine with it.”</p><p>“That sounds <em>delightful</em>,” he said. There was no more stalling, so he just said, “Goodbye, then.”</p><p>Virgil nodded, looking tense, and then flung his arms around Janus. Janus froze, then wrapped his arms around Virgil – all six of them. Virgil nestled in closer.</p><p>“Don’t get hurt, okay?” he said.</p><p>“I will try not to,” Janus replied. He pulled away. “I’ll speak to you soon.”</p><p>He left then, sinking back to the Dark Side before he could change his mind, could get on his knees and beg Patton to let him stay a little longer.</p><p>He landed back in his room, shouts and screams filtering in from outside. The others would notice Virgil was gone soon enough, would figure out <em>where </em>he was gone eventually. Janus would have to be prepared for that, prepared for them deciding they wanted a spot in the light, prepared for them wanting to take their anger out on someone. Janus would need to be ready, to excise any weakness. </p><p>Alone, in the dark, he told himself that things were better this way.</p>
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